Why are conditions imposed?
Planning conditions are used to regulate how a development is built, from the hours worked on site to how construction traffic moves around the site, and to control the materials being used. They also stipulate how a development should be used, or not used, in the future.
When planning permission is granted there will be at least one or two conditions. These usually state a time period during which the permission is valid, and list the approved plans that the development must be built in accordance with.
We may grant permission, subject to planning conditions that require further information to be submitted to us for approval. These are identified on the planning permission decision notice as:
- conditions requiring local planning authority written approval, or
- conditions to be complied with before a development commences, or
- pre-commencement conditions
and must be discharged before any work commences on site.
Other conditions might need to be discharged before certain elements of the development are reached, eg before windows are inserted, or before a new building is occupied.
There may also be informative conditions which give general guidance on how certain aspects of the development should be carried out, details of what to submit pursuant of the condition, or where other restrictions or legislation may apply to development proposals.
Conditions are normally self-explanatory and instructions outlined in conditions should be easy to interpret but if you are uncertain please contact the planning officer who dealt with your application; contact details can be found on the planning portal.